BWW EXCLUSIVE: Joan Rivers on Broadway, Hollywood, Reality TV & More

 

Last night I had the privilege of interviewing comedy icon and red carpet legend Joan Rivers about her first love of theatre and live performance, working the red carpet and virtually inventing celeb-reality culture, her Broadway endeavors - FUN CITY, Neil Simon's BROADWAY BOUND and Sally Marr... AND HER ESCORTS, plus her new autobiographical piece and investing in PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT - as well as all about the dazzling documentary Joan Rivers: A PIECE OF WORK. All of this, in addition to discussing her two weekly TV shows - FASHION POLICE on E! and the hit new WE reality series with daughter Melissa Rivers, JOAN AND MELISSA: JOAN KNOWS BEST? Stay tuned to BroadwayWorld for a complete conversation with Melissa all about growing up Hollywood, her superstar mother and running a Production Company and what it was like filming season one of JOAN KNOWS BEST? coming up soon.

1 + 1 = 4

PC: Do you go on the internet and see what people say about you?

JR: Yes, I do, to a point. (Pause.) It's just that you can get so hurt. I'm in a business where I have to dish it out so I figure that the easiest way is to just not look at what they are saying.

PC: Unless there is a specific reaction - or edification - you are looking for...

JR: I am going to be looking for what they're saying about PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT because it's the first Broadway play I've ever, ever, ever invested in!

PC: Jerry Mitchell is working on that. It's going to have fabulous production numbers, he's said to me. Are you excited about it? How did you get involved with the producing/investing side of things?

JR: Oh, my God, I am so excited about it! I saw it in England and I thought it was so amazing and they said, "You wanna invest?" and I said, "What the hell!"

PC: That's all it took?

JR: It's Cooper's [her grandson's] college education - it damn well better work! (Laughs.)

PC: I think most people of my generation know you from the red carpet interviews - what do you think about being so well-known and relevant to the twentysomethings?

JR: Oh, I think it's so, so great. Especially since the younger people don't know you from Carson - I hate that; it's such an old story.

PC: Ancient history. More people my age know you than Carson, anyway.

JR: People will say, "Oh, well, tell us about Johnny Carson!" And, I'm like, "Nobody who has a tampon in their pocketbook cares!" Let's... not... go there! (Laughs.)

PC: (Laughs.) We remember the Kevin Costner moment with the tiny engagement ring!

JR: Exactly. Those are the good memories! (Laughs.)

PC: I interviewed Sondheim recently and I was curious what you thought of his work since you are such a theatre fan?

JR: Aww! That's my dream - that he is straight and he comes and finds me finally!

PC: That's so, so funny.

JR: I am - I am not making a joke now - I go to this one party every year in Connecticut just because Stephen Sondheim might be there. I am a Sondheim groupie!

PC: What are your favorite songs of his? "Send In The Clowns"?

JR: Oh, well, any older woman is "Send In The Clowns" and any older woman is "I'm Still Here". (Laughs.) The whole COMPANY score I am nuts over, even though people sort of forget about it. All the scores. All of those shows. You can't compare his shows to anybody's.

PC: You really can't.

JR: I also loved that little Broadway show they recently did on him.

PC: SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM.

JR: Yeah. I felt like "Screw you! Stop singing! I just wanna see the film on him!"

PC: Barbara Cook was recently telling me about people really loving the clips as much as the live performance - it's true. It was a great multimedia marriage of a show.

JR: Oh, I adore Barbara Cook, too.

PC: What do you think of Andrew Lloyd Webber? Isn't STARLIGHT EXPRESS your favorite show?

JR: Oh, I loved it, I loved it. I don't know why they don't revive it. On the CD they took out "Only You" and I don't know why! I love that song. I don't know why they took it out. But, that's what a good fan I am of that score!

PC: You know the minutiae! Have you seen SPIDER-MAN?

JR: I've got my tickets and I'm praying that - I mean, if they are smart they should just get stuntmen to fall every fifth show!

PC: (Laughs.)

JR: No, I'm telling you: they'd get their money back in a heartbeat!

 

PC: What do you think of that kind of danger in the theatre - a live comedy of errors?

JR: Well, I've been on Broadway three times now and I just think it's all so hilarious. You know what it is - the stagehands aren't going to pick up the pieces until they finish their pinochle game. So, yes, it's very dangerous! (Laughs.)

PC: What was it like doing FUN CITY in the 70s, BROADWAY BOUND in the 80s and Sally Marr in the 90s? How did audiences change? How did the theatre in general change? Could you put the three in perspective?

JR: I think audiences on Broadway - listen, FUN CITY should have run because it was really funny.

PC: What happened?

JR: The critics would not accept me because I was coming out of television and everyone said "Sitcom actress," so I think they were a little harsh on it. I think it was a very funny little piece.

PC: BROADWAY BOUND?

JR: BROADWAY BOUND was being given a gift by Neil Simon. It was a gift. It was just... that mother. What a role. What a role. And Sally Marr..., if someone doesn't revive it I'm gonna kill myself! I think it's so good. I'd love to do it off-Broadway forever.

PC: Is there a future for Sally Marr...?

JR: I would love to do it again. I would kill to put it up again. I've been talking to the Geffen Theater in California about doing it again.

PC: What about doing it online? Or, filming it?

JR: I think it's great - there's no money in it - but, I think it's great to do that kind of thing. I do it.

PC: What about comedy specials for TV?

JR: I think it's about any way you can get your work out there. (Pause.) You know, all of it is so - we're in the one business where - it's like, "You had to be there, buddy!"

PC: You had to be there.

JR: You had to be there. You know, "I saw so-and-so in MEDEA and I was there so I know how great they were!" I think it's wonderful that more and more things are being released on YouTube and DVD.

PC: What about THE GIRL MOST LIKELY TO...?

JR: THE GIRL MOST LIKELY TO... is somewhere out there on DVD, but every year somebody calls me and asks if they can make a Broadway musical of it. You know, now, everyone is doing these musicals of these old things so I think it's a very good time for it.

PC: It's time for something funny on Broadway again - it's been ten years since HAIRSPRAY and THE PRODUCERS.

JR: Oh, THE PRODUCERS, wasn't that just great? I also loved the one that came after, [YOUNG] FRANKENSTEIN.

PC: What do you think of Kristin Chenoweth and Sutton Foster and the Broadway comedic actresses - Broadway talent in general?

JR: I think Broadway is just there and there's nothing like it. There's nothing like live performing - and, anyone that doesn't get how wonderful it is, well... I mean, I'll see anything. I go above Broadway, under Broadway, around Broadway, on Broadway - I just love live performance. There is nothing like it.

PC: You make that point in Joan Rivers: A PIECE OF WORK - that documentary, which, by the way, is itself a truly remarkable accomplishment and one of the best entertainment documentaries - that you work to afford theatre tickets.

JR: Oh, thank you, thank you. But, yeah, live performance, going to the theatre - that's New York. That's New York.

PC: Do you feel like you have a sense of satisfaction getting your fresh, new material out there since you have a weekly taped show now with FASHION POLICE?

JR: Yes, FASHION POLICE is so much fun. Great question. I mean - one: Melissa is producing it and they are giving me a tremendous amount of leeway because she knows so well what I like to do and what I don't like to do; and, two: it is such a hit. We're having a great time with it.

PC: And the new WE reality series?

JR: With the JOAN AND MELISSA show, now, you are getting lots of funny stuff being filmed - and that's good. That's really good, to have all that stuff out there.

PC: The Golden Globes special last week was one of your funniest specials ever.

JR: Thank you, thank you. It was a great year there.

PC: Scarlett Johansson has done this column and she is constantly featured as one of the new generation of fashion icons on the show. Who are the new fashion icons?

JR: Yeah, I love her because she takes risks. I think she's great. Some of them, though - there's one who always wears Chanel and she looks just awful. Some are getting to the point where they will just put on anything - I mean, I love Sarah Jessica Parker, I adore her, but for God's sake don't let them put you in something that was on a six-foot-six model!

PC: Do you think Broadway is the most glamorous of all mediums?

JR: I think the most glamorous is still Broadway. Give me a major evening in a Broadway theater and you come away with that great, mixed, shared experience - and what an experience that is!

PC: You cite that communal experience in a theater as what really drives you.

JR: Oh, yeah. That's why I adore going to see shows so much, too.

PC: Tell me about the whole experience devising your new reality series.

JR: Well, Melissa and I are doing the FASHION POLICE show on E!, so I am out there so much that I said I am going to move out there three days a week. At least three days a week. Until I get my own place, Melissa said, "Why don't you stay with me?" - which is what I usually do when I go out there. But, it's one thing when I'm not there and it's another when I actually get there and live with her.

PC: I bet!

JR: It's one thing, too, staying with me one day a week and another for more than that! Somebody said to us, "What a great reality show: two strong women living together." Only, the thing is: Melissa rules the roost.

PC: What do you feel about that?

JR: Well, it's Melissa's house! So, I'm there screaming and yelling because, you know, my taste is New York classic and hers is California - she's a surfer and she's a rider and she's a tennis player and she's a soccer mom - I mean, I open the refrigerator and there's soy milk - blegh!

PC: Why does it work as a reality show?

JR: The show has just taken off because it's about two absolutely conflicting lifestyles - a mother and daughter should never live together. (Laughs.)

PC: Has it helped or hurt your relationship?

JR: That's a good question - and a question you'll have to ask her! She thinks it's helped our relationship. (Pause.) I think it's... all I know is I gained six pounds over the g*ddamn thing! I'm so nervous now - afraid of saying, "I hate this!" or, "I hate that!" Putting on make-up all the time. It's all very difficult for me [filming a reality series].

PC: Compare your Oscar night dinner in New York compared to how you'll celebrate with Melissa.

JR: Well, now, if it were my house, we'd be having champagne and caviar and wonderful little oysters. I'd have it beautifully done - candlelit and the whole thing. But, as we will be watching at Melissa's house, it will probably be takeout Chinese. (Pause.) And, that sums up the East Coast and West Coast - and that sums up the show.

PC: What was the pitch?

JR: The pitch was just, "Put the two of us together."

PC: That's all you need.

JR: Explosions! Tears! Good things and bad things - she's fixing me up on dates and I'm trying to get her publicity as a nude model and it all really, actually goes on in our house!

PC: This will be the third year of a camera crew following you around between this, THE APPRENTICE and A PIECE OF WORK. What is that like? Don't you get tired of it?

JR: I've gotten very comfortable with it. I mean, also, I'm forty-odd years in the business, so it's ok to see me looking like a schlep; it's ok to see me getting angry at somebody - it's all part of life. I think Melissa had a much more difficult time with it at first, but she's fine with it now.

PC: They follow you all day?

JR: They are with us everywhere. You wake up in the morning and, honey, they are there! And, it's in Melissa's house - so that's very difficult.

PC: Your house in Manhattan is one of the most beautiful homes I've ever seen - and that's just on TV. Can you tell me a little about it?

JR: Thank you. It was built in the 1890s by a very famous architect. Rumor has it that JP Morgan had three daughters and he had three houses built for them - and this is one of the houses.

PC: JP Morgan, what a name! Compare it to Melissa's abode?

JR: Melissa's house is lovely. She's California. She's Malibu. You know, I go in her garage and there are four surfboards hanging there. I'm like, "What the hell is this?"

 

PC: It's a whole different world out there.

JR: Oh, yeah. It's very very [different]. That's what it's all about [the show] - east versus west and mother versus daughter and, at the end of the day, it's also family-oriented. It's, "Can you go home again?"

PC: Can you? Do you think you can?

JR: I don't think so. I don't think it's possible. (Pause.) Parents, like fish, should leave after three days or else they start to stink.

PC: What an analogy.

JR: Yeah, it's true. When I'm down in the guestroom, I know she's not too happy - I know she'll be happy to see me go!

PC: So, distance makes the heart grow fonder?

JR: Yes. It's not until I get home at night and I'm in my bed that I think, "Gee, I was awfully rude today!"

PC: So you feel remorse?

JR: Oh, yeah. Of course you feel remorse! But, it's life! And, the camera is there every second.

PC: So, like when you make a dig about someone on FASHION POLICE, the comment stays with you longer than with the person you said it about?

JR: Absolutely. Absolutely right. You know, in my career, I've never said anything mean about anyone that wasn't very rich and very famous.

PC: What do you think about Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes? Did he go too far?

JR: Not at all. Not at all. That's what they hired and that's what they got!

PC: Could he have gone further?

JR: I think he could have gone further and I think that this is the best thing that could have happened to him because now he's a known commodity in America.

PC: Do you think that being in better shape - he lost sixty pounds since the last time he hosted - and, supposedly, better-looking now, that people take to him differently?

JR: Yes. That's very true. A comic can't be too gorgeous.

PC: Your documentary begins with you make-up-less: do you feel you have to put on a mask to become the character of Joan Rivers?

JR: I don't know. I never try to figure out what I do. It's worked by non-analyzing for all these years, so I don't want to start now, for God's sake!

PC: You are the only comic that has lasted this long. You and Don Rickles are the only ones who are still at it, going strong. I mean, Pryor is gone.

JR: Yes, he is. He was something.

PC: Belushi is gone. Who is gone that you thought really had the potential to be the best or last for the long haul?

JR: I don't know. You know, there are ones that you know are brilliant where you just want to say, "Don't screw it up with drugs, you idiot! You got the gold ring, for chrissakes, enjoy it!"

PC: Where do you think you have found your resiliency?

JR: I think I've been resilient because my nose has been to the grindstone.

PC: And not in the bag of cocaine.

JR: (Laughs.) And not in the bag of cocaine.

PC: Since you both appeared in SHREK 2 together and you now have both done this column: what do you think of Julie Andrews?

JR: Oh, I got to meet her at the premiere at New York. I think she's just great. She dresses a little dowdy-ly, though - she should be more glamorous. But, that voice - that voice is the voice of God.

PC: From Julie Andrews to Howard Stern: you were great on the show last week. Do you love doing the show?

JR: I love, love, love doing HOWARD.

PC: 5 more years!

JR: What a great man. He just does what he wants and he's just amazing at it. He's just amazing.

PC: The essence of theatre is collaboration, but since you are alone onstage I'm curious about your response: Define collaboration.

JR: Oh, collaboration is wonderful - one plus one equals four! Oh, when you get a good collaborator you can just soar!

PC: Your new play in the UK Fringe - Joan Rivers: A WORK IN PROGRESS BY A LIFE IN PROGRESS - had such rapturous reviews: was that a successful collaboration, in your opinion?

JR: The reviews were wonderful and I loved working on it. Sally Marr... was a joy, too. I always collaborate with somebody - I always like to write with somebody. I just think that if you have an idea and you put it out there and then they build on it and you build on that and, before you know it, you are at a place you would have never gotten to alone. Collaboration is fabulous.

PC: Is there any collaboration in your future - professional or otherwise?

JR: As soon as Stephen Sondheim and I marry... (Big Laugh.)

PC: JOAN KNOWS BEST? and FASHION POLICE are enough to keep you busy until then!

JR: Those two and all the QVC stuff.

PC: Liza now has her own HSN line - you have some competition!

JR: I love Liza, but I don't think she's gonna stick for the long haul. I think Liza's too busy. There comes a point with it where you're like, "Ugh, I have to go to Philadelphia again!" It's such a schlep!

PC: At 4 AM, like in the documentary!

JR: Yeah, but that's why I've survived - because of QVC.

PC: You clearly love what you do - what do you watch for great entertainment?

JR: ALL THAT JAZZ.

PC: Is that your favorite film?

JR: One of my favorites. When he walks into the hospital room with the old lady and she's dying and he says, "You're beautiful." That's one of the great moments in film.

PC: I agree. Rounding out the top three?

JR: Oh, I love LAWRENCE OF ARABIA because it's so big and the filming of it. Now, I love BEING JULIA. Love it.

PC: You're amazing. This was awesome. Thank you.

JR: Thank you. Thank you. This was terrific. Bye bye, darling.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos